Acartia tonsa prosome length measurements from copepods collected in Long Island Sound in summer and fall of 2019
Project
| Contributors | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Dam, Hans G. | University of Connecticut (UConn) | Principal Investigator |
| Sasaki, Matthew | University of Connecticut (UConn) | Scientist |
| York, Amber D. | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO) | BCO-DMO Data Manager |
Abstract
Copepods were measured using an inverted compound microscope and attached digital camera. Body lengths were then measured using ImageJ.
Note: Duplicate rows in this dataset table are real measurements of separate individuals.
All raw data and code associated with these analyses are available from a Dryad repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9kd51c5dg
* Data from submitted file "Sasaki Dam 2020 Size.csv" was imported into the BCO-DMO data system for this dataset. Values "NA" imported as missing data values. Table will appear as Data File: 955742_v1_a-tonsa-body-size.csv (along with other download format options).
Missing Data Identifiers:
* In the BCO-DMO data system missing data identifiers are displayed according to the format of data you access. For example, in csv files it will be blank (null) values. In Matlab .mat files it will be NaN values. When viewing data online at BCO-DMO, the missing value will be shown as blank (null) values.
* Date converted to ISO 8601 format
* Column "collection_temo" renamed "collection_temp" as per provided metadata for column description name.
* collection_date column was added using the collection_id as provided in related data table from same collection ids (dataset https://osprey.bco-dmo.org/dataset/955739)
* Organism LSIDs added from matches at the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) on 2025-03-11
Relationship Description: These datasets utilized the same collections. Results for both datasets were published in Sasaki et al. (2020).
| Parameter | Description | Units |
| collection_id | the culture ID. Refers to the time period copepods were collected | unitless |
| collection_date | collection date | unitless |
| collection_temp | the water temperature recorded at the time of collection | degrees Celsius |
| acclimation_temp | the temperature copepods were acclimated to during the split-brood phase of the common garden experiment. Refers to the temperature copepods were reared at. | degrees Celsius |
| sex | the sex of the individual measured ("m" indicates male, "f" indicates female) | unitless |
| length | the measured prosome length for each individual. millimeter. | millimeter (mm) |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | |
| Generic Instrument Name | Camera |
| Dataset-specific Description | Copepods were measured using an inverted compound microscope and attached digital camera. |
| Generic Instrument Description | All types of photographic equipment including stills, video, film and digital systems. |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | |
| Generic Instrument Name | Microscope - Optical |
| Dataset-specific Description | Copepods were measured using an inverted compound microscope and attached digital camera. |
| Generic Instrument Description | Instruments that generate enlarged images of samples using the phenomena of reflection and absorption of visible light. Includes conventional and inverted instruments. Also called a "light microscope". |
Linking eco-evolutionary dynamics of thermal adaptation and grazing in copepods from highly seasonal environments (evolutionary_copepods)
NSF Award Abstract:
Many parts of the ocean are warming rapidly, but it is still unknown how this warming will affect marine food webs. Copepods, small crustaceans, are the most abundant animals in the ocean; consequently, they play crucial roles in plankton marine food webs and in the transfer of energy to fishes. Many species of copepods are able to choose between prey such as microscopic plants and single-celled animals. The choice affects how energy moves through marine food webs. Past work suggests that increasing temperature should favor herbivory over carnivory. This project is investigating whether this prediction holds in the face of genetic adaptation to warming in highly seasonal systems such as coastal temperate zones. Results from this study are contributing to understanding and predicting the response of marine ecosystems to future climate conditions, as well as for planning and implementing sustainable fisheries management plans. Other broader impacts include the development of learning modules for high school and college students. Hands-on science exhibits for K-6 students and public presentations at established lecture series focus on the role of copepods in marine food webs in coastal habitats.
Predicting responses of the oceanic biota to climate change is limited not only by an incomplete understanding of how warming affects ecological interactions and evolutionary dynamics individually, but also by how these two factors interact. Copepods are both grazers of phytoplankton and predators of microzooplankton in marine systems. Increasing temperatures may drive a large-scale shift in the diet of omnivorous copepods towards stronger herbivory, with significant consequences for the structure of marine food webs and the control of primary productivity. However, thermal adaptation may moderate or even nullify these shifts. This project examines the interactive role ecological and evolutionary dynamics plays in shaping grazing and individual fitness in a warming ocean. The main goals of the project are to: 1) quantify seasonal variation in thermal performance curves in dominant coastal copepod species; 2) determine whether observed seasonal variation in thermal performance is caused by genetic differentiation or phenotypic plasticity; 3) assess how temperature affects respiration and protein synthesis rates, selective feeding, and individual fitness; and 4) determine how changes in the thermal performance curve, via both genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity, affect the relationship between temperature and food preference. Selective feeding experiments are being paired with measurements of egg production and hatching success across a wide range of temperatures to measure thermal effects on feeding selectivity and individual fitness. Finally, genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity on temperature sensitivity is being investigated across populations from environments that differ in their thermal regime. The outcomes of this project contribute to the parameterization of models that forecast fisheries dynamics in response to climate change.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
| Funding Source | Award |
|---|---|
| NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) |
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